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Thursday, June 21, 2012

DIY Projects - Recycled T-Shirt Bag (No Sewing Required!)

We all have old t-shirts that we don't wear anymore, right?! They are either stored in a tote under the bed or sitting on the bottom of a drawer in the bureau. These T-shirts were once worn often but now for whatever reason, we no longer wear them. Why not take these "once loved but now forgotten" t-shirts and turn them into something useful?? Why not turn an old t-shirt into a new bag?? I found this nifty idea on a blog called Leethal.net - do stuff! There are a lot of great ideas on this site but I found this project to be my favorite! Here's how it's done...

You will need:

An old t-shirt that you no longer wear or a cute and inexpensive thrift store find

A safety pin

A good pair of scissors

Step 1: Cut off the sleeves of the T-shirt - these will be the handles of your bag

Step 2: Cut the neckline of the shirt - I chose a squared neckline but you can cut it out into a rounded neckline or a v-neck! This will be the opening of your bag

Step 3: From the sleeves that you have already cut off, cut 3 small strips

Step 4: Stretch the 3 strips out - You will find that cotton is a very easy fabric to stretch

Step 5: Cut 3 small slits into the bottom of the t-shirt (one in the middle of the front and then one on each side of the back part of the shirt - just cut up to the seam and then stop)
Step 6: Take one of the 3 strips that you cut from the sleeve and stick a safety pin through one end of it (this will be a guide as you pull it through the bottom of the t-shirt so that you don't lose track of the piece)
Step 7: Run it through the bottom of the shirt - start at one of the cuts that you made and run it through until you reach the next one Pull the string through, center it as much as possible
Step 8: Tie a knot (I tied it twice!)
Repeat step numbers 6-8 with each piece of fabric. Once you have three holes completed, turn the bag inside out and tie the strings from the three openings together (this just ensures that the bottom is strong and can hold whatever you decide to put in it)! Turn the bag back right side out and you are done!

You can use it for groceries or as a tote bag - whatever you like! I love how easy this project is and I love love love the fact that it does not involve any sewing as I am still learning/perfecting my sewing skills! If you have any questions or get stuck on any of the steps, feel free to comment on this post! Also, if you end up making one of these nifty bags I would love to see them!

Hello There!

I'm Meg & I'm super glad that you decided to stop by my little corner of the internets! This here blog is filled with crafty projects, yummy recipes, frugal ideas & random snip its of my life. I hope you decide to stick around for a while!